Combined pump and can opener



June 21, 1927.

1,632,933 R. A. THORNTON comma Pun AND 01m 0mm Filed Oct. 26. 1925 Ifivemor. Roy A. Thornton Patented June 21, 1927.

when

ROY A. THORNTDON, OE NORTH WEYMOUTH MASSACHUSETTS.

comnnmn PUMPAND CAN OPENER.

Application, filed October 26, 1925. Serial no; 64,797.

This invention relates to etcombination can. opener and pumprby whlch an. opening may becut 1n the top. of a can containingliquidiand' the liquid dispensed through said 6 opening. The devlce comprlses a pump barrel or cyllnder having. a piston thereon and means on. the. end of the barrelby which: an opene, ing. may be cut in the'top of the can of a.

size to receive the pump cylinder.

Inorder to give an understanding of the inventionl have illustrated in the drawings 7 a selected embodiment thereof which, willnow be described after which the novel teatures will be pointed out in. the appended claims. i

Fig; 1. is a sectional view showingacan after? the pump. embodying my invention has beeninserted therein;

before it is opened; a

Fig. 3. isa perspective view of the com.- bined pump and. can. opener;

F13 4. is a. fragmentary perspective view showing. the manner in which. the can opener feature of. the pump cuts an apertureinthe top of the can to receive'the pump cylinder ,Fig.. 5 is a:bott0m planv view ot the combined pump andlcanopener; a Fig... 6 is a' sectional view through the lower end of the pump cylinder taken on the line 66, Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 isa view illustrating. the relative position-otithe'cuttingknives when they beginthe operation'ot'cutting the hole in the can v .FigFSiis a view showingthe way in which theknivesoperate'to cut the hole in the can.

Inthedrawings 1 indicates a can contain ing. liquid. which may be of any suitable size or shape The novel can opener and pump. which is the subject of the present invention: comprises a pump. barrel or pump cylinder 2 having: an inlet port?) at its lower endlandl a discharge pipe Lat its upper end. Operating, in the barrel is apump piston 5 which is connected to a piston rod 6 that extends beyond the upper end-Jot the barrel and is. provided-with a handle 7 by which it may be operated. 8 indicates a closure for the upper end; of. the cylinder which also Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the ca torms av packing for the piston rod. If it 1s desiredto make an inexpensive article I will preferably employ a cork torthe closure 8 because this will both effect the necessary'closure and also provide the requisite packing for the piston rod. i

The inlet port 3 is normally closed by an inlet valve 9 which may conveniently be a disk or leather or other suitable-material .which is anchored centrally and which has its edges free so that when suction is created in the cylinder above the valve during the up-stroke of the piston the edges of the valve will lift up to allow liquidto enter the cylinder, while when the piston isca'rri ed downwardly the valve will close thus forcing the liquid past the piston into the cylinder above the latter. The piston 5 is also in the form of a disk otleather or similar material which just fills the cylinder and which is confined between a relatively large flange 10 on: its under side and a relatively small collar or the flange 11 on its upper side. During the lip-stroke of the piston it will lie against the flange 10 and torm a tight joint with the walls of the cylinder and during the down stroke the edge of the piston may curve upwardly to allow the liquid to pass. The pump cylinder hasat itslower end provision for cutting an opening in the top ot the can of a size to recelve the pump cylinder'so that the device may be used first to cut an opening in the can and after the pump has been inserted through the opening, as shown in Fig. 1, the device may be used to. empty the can.

The can-cuttingteatures comprise a centering pin 12 secured to the end of the cylinder axially thereof and two cutting blades 13 and 1-4 which are secured to the peripheral portion of the cylinder. These cutting blades extend beyond the bottom of the cylinder and are preferably pointed as shown in Fig. 4, each having a cutting edge. The centering pin 12 projects further beyond the end ot the cylinder than the cutting blades and the purpose of this is to hold the cylinder in proper position during the can-cutting operation.

In using the device the lower end of the pump cylinder will be pressed against the can top with suflicient pressure to cause both the centering pin and the pointed knives to puncture the can top 15. Since the centering 'pin 12 is longer than the knives the first operation will be that the pin will puncture the can top after which the pointed end of the knives may be pushed through said can top. After the top hasthus been punctured the pump is turned about its axis, the cen" tering pin 12 serving as a positioningdevice to hold the pump cylinder in proper posi tion during the rotating operation. The

remain there is a possibility that it might clog the inlet ports 3 and thus interfere with the operation of the pump. I have, therefore, provided a construction by which a hole may be made in the top of the can without cutting the metal disk which. filled the tive 'positionshown in .Figs. 5 and 7 from which it will be observed that the blades do i hole entirely free from the can top. I do this by giving the cutting blades the relanot standdiametrically opposite each other. The blades have such a relative position that when they are forced through the top 15 of the can said blades 13 and 14 will enter the can at the points indicated in Fig. 7. 1 If now the blades are turned in the direction.

of the arrow in Fig. 7 the blade 13 will reach the position initially occupied: b the blade l4 as shown in Fig. 8 before the lade 14 reaches the position initially occupied by the blade 13. In other words, a turn of less than one-half a revolution will cause the blade 13 to cut the top 15 from the point where said blade 13 entered to the point where the blade 14 entered, that is, during this less than onehalf revolution the blade 13 will make the cut 26 in the top 15 from the point 16, Fig. 8, when said blade 13 entered the top, to the point 17, while the blade 14 will make the cut 27 in the top from the point 17 to the point 18. When the pump cylinder has been given partial turn so that a out has been made in the top from the point 16 around to the point 18 then the pump is removed and metal 19 enclosed within the cut is bent downwardly into the interior of the can as shown in Fig. 1. This leaves a hole in the top of the can through which the pump cylinder may be inserted as shown in Fig. 1.

The pump is provided with suitable means for locking the pump in position, this be- -which the top of a can may be ing a spring catch device 20 which extends longitudinally of the pump and is secured thereto at the lower end as shown at 21. This catch device is provided with a reentrant portionor recess 22 in which the edge of the opening in the can is received.

The device 20 is in the nature of aspring catchso that when the pump isinserted to the proper point the re-entrant portion 22 will snapover the edge of the openlng 1n the cantop and thus hold the pump from vertical movementwhile it is being operated.

The centering pin 12 also functions asa means for retaining the inlet valve .9 in

place. This centering pin is inthefform of a'headed pin which is inserted throu h both the valve 9 and the bottom 2301:" t e 1 cylinder, the head 24 of the pin-resting 7 against the washer .9 which forms the inlet 7 valve. This pin is anchored to the bottom 23 of the cylinder as shownat 25.

by being soldered thereto The pump embodying this invention is;

very inexpensive to manufacture and may be furnished witha can as means for dis: pensing the contents of it. The device is useful for a great variety of purposes and is specially useful in connection with cans containing kerosene or other sim lar l1qu1d' which it is desiredto dispense in small quantities at a time. Kerosene and man similar liquids arefrequently sold in fivegallon cans. It is extremely difiicult to pour out a smallquantity from a 'full five-gallon can without spilling and wasting a consid erable quantity." My' invention, however,

other provides a means by which small or lar e,

quantities can be dispensed from cans wit out any spillage or wastage. 3

While Ihave illustrated herein a selected embodiment of my invention I do not wish to be limited to the constructional features shown.

Iclaim: 1, 1. A combined pump and can opener comprising a 1pump cylinder having an inlet port at its port, a piston operating in the cylinder, a

can-puncturing centering pin extending from the bottom end of the pumpand b and tow cutters extending from t e bottom of the pump for cutting an opening in the Y can as the pump is turned about the centering pin, said cutters being situated in a non-diametrical relation, whereby less than one-half a revolution of the pump will make a circular out in the can top slightly less than a complete circle so that by bending the material thus cut down into the can a hole is produced into which the pump barrel may be inserted.

2. In a pump, the combination with a.

ower end, an inlet valve for said uncture v pump cylinder having an inlet port at one end, a disk valve controlling said port, a combined puncturing and centering pin extending through the valve and the end of the cylinder, and knives on the ends of the pump cylinder for cutting a hole in a can when the pump is turned about the puncturing and centering pin, said puncturing and centering pin being anchored to the bottom of the cylinder and serving to hold the disk valve in place.

In testlmony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification;

.ROY A. THORNTON.

Certificate of Correction.

Patent No. 1,632,933. Granted June 21, 1927, to

ROY A. THORNTON.

It is herebycertified that error appears in the printed specification of the abovenumbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2, line 117 claim 1, for the Word tow read two; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that thesame may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 26th day of July, A. D. 1927.

[SEAL] M. J. MOORE,

Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

